Divided Heaven

The June session is dedicated to Christa Wolf. As introduction, "reading help" and preparation for our meeting here some words, why I came to this selection:

Christa Wolf sets a story about coming of age in the German Democratic Republic of the late fifties and very early sixties, a time when the difficulties and contradictions of the 10-year-old GDR were becoming more and more apparent. Rita, a young girl raised in a protected rural environment, discovers life in the city, industrial production, and love, all at the same time. The Berlin Wall has not yet been built, but the conflicts which lead to this event are already present in Rita’s life. Why choose this book for a reading club? There are several reasons.

1. The author died in December 2011. Christa Wolf was well known in Germany, both East and West. But although acknowledged as a writer, her greatest impact on Germany seemed to come from her political activity during the post-Wall period, when Germany was still separated and the path to the future was to be found. Her death was reason enough for me to want to get to know her literary work at least a little bit and I went to the library without thinking of making this a book club selection. What I then discovered left me to wanting to discuss it with people coming from a different background than mine.

2. DIVIDED HEAVEN was a “spare-time read” which was immediately followed by the STONE CARVERS. The difference of style struck me immediately. To transmit an idea, it might well be more commercially appealing and comforting for the reader to chose a pleasant and easy style, but the "dry" approach of Christa Wolf corresponds to the subject, independently of the fact that at this time and in this political context it was wished and fashionable to submit to a realistic, untempered (objective?) view and presentation of reality. Does this translate also to an Anglo-Saxon reader? Is it allowed to tell a love story in such a cold/harsh manner? Was there any kind of (neo-?)realistic writing movement also ongoing in the Western world in the sixties?

3. Reading the book, I was touched in a way I had never experienced before. It felt like returning back to childhood and the smell, feel, and taste of things and situations I had forgotten about a long time ago. Although I did not myself live at that specific period, it marked strongly the minds of people and appeared in school books in various ways. The spirit of this moment was always present in the collective memory. Whether it came up in discussion or was remained silent about, the Wall was palpable in everybody’s life, without any question. My own growing up was thus strongly influenced by this period, consciously or not. In this sense I'm very interested to know whether Christa Wolf succeeded or not in translating by literary means the values of that time. Can it be understood, by anybody and independently of the background of the reader, why and how people took decisions; what led to the motivation of a Meternagel to continue and Manfred to leave? Are these topics that can be understood universally? How does the shop floor smell for you; can you understand the events there?

4. Finally, I have to admit, that DIVIDED HEAVEN is surely not the most fun book I ever read. Nevertheless I got hooked up – and started to think about what makes a book good for me: that I understand or even identify with the characters? That I get distraction or new views on the world? Am entertained, have fun, or live big emotions? … What do you need in a book to call it a good one?  

Maren

PS: Thanks to Phoebe for her editing and proof reading!

Jonathan Franzen: FREEDOM

Monday night we had, I believe, the BEST BOOK CLUB MEETING EVER.

There were ten of us gathered in Amanda's extraordinarily lovely and welcoming apartment (with balcony!) – some of us getting a special guided tour of the historic nooks and crannies of the hôtel privé, courtesy of Tristan.

We began with a toast to Elisabeth, our newest bas bleu, whom we forgive for keeping Anke away this time. We are less indulgent towards Anjuli's exam. Fingers crossed for June and the discussion of Divided Heaven!

Discussion of Freedom was heated, as we like it. Most people who were around when the group read Franzen's The Corrections preferred this later work, finding its style less virtuosic and theme less self-consciously Great American Novel, if I followed the interweaving comments correctly. Emily was impressed, detail by detail, but unmoved by the big picture. Caroline was not alone in finding Patty a pain. During a discussion of how different characters were handled – Walter, Patty, Katz, and Joey getting full internal explorations, characters of different class (Carol, Blake, Coyle Mathis) and ethnicity (Lalitha) getting external presentations – Maren brought up Joey's sister, Jessica, who indeed gets short shrift. Is it simply because, like a Tolstoyan happy family, she doesn't have enough problems for a full description? And, hey, why didn't we touch on Tolstoy, since Franzen waved War and Peace under our noses? I confess that in my case it's because I've never read it. Future selection?

We never did get around to discussing in full Anke's questions – is this a self-absorbed novel, or a novel about self-absorbed people? Cynthia brought up the fact that the novel brought up (even if refracted through possibly unappealing or obsessive characters) some genuine issues (overpopulation/overconsumption). We talked about the comic and pathetic self-importance of some of those middle-class characters – Walter's "Positive social change works top-down … Rosa Parks sits down on her bus, college students hear about it … and suddenly there's a national civil-rights movement" or Patty's worrying about cloth diapers – and how it expressed a feeling of responsibility as well as solipsism, a sort of bourgeoisie oblige. In short, good choice!

Another good choice is our next selection, which has people excited and cooperating. I think we're demonstrating that a less accessible book choice can work if it's announced a few months ahead. (Do remember that availability in English is non-negotiable: we have several members who can't read a whole book in French and apparently a significant number who find it very difficult.) And, while it shouldn't be mandatory for every selection, Maren's essay was inspirational and a big bonus for readers!

Phoebe